Tray



Feb. 6, 1940.

W. E. MACK.

TRAY

Filed May 29, 1937 INVENTOR Wayne E. MacK A 5%? MTM Patented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES TRAY Wayne E. Mack, Martins Ferry,- 0hio,'assignor to The Consolidated Expanded Metal Companies, Wheeling, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Application May 29, 1937, Serial No. 145,445

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a tray and the manufacture thereof and relates more particularly to trays which are used .in the preparation and storage of foodstuffs, as, for example, in the sardine packing industry.

In certain industries, such as the food packing industry, there is a demand for a tray which can withstand a large amount of rough handling and abuse and which, at the same time, is relatively light in weight and small in bulk. The tray should be so constructed that it may be readily cleaned and should be free from small crevices in which food particles may lodge and decay. A tray constructed according to my invention satisfies all the above mentioned requirements and may be manufactured at low cost.

I provide a sheet of suitable formainous material such as expanded metal, flattened expanded metal, perforated metal, or wire fabric, of suitable thickness and cut to the desired size. Bars, preferably half-rounds, are then pressure-'- welded to the sheet along its opposed edges to form a protective and reinforcing rim. The thus reinforced sheet is then treated by a suitable process of coating or rustproofing, as for example, hot-dip galvanizing. The term hot-dip galvanizing is used herein as a word of definition and not of limitation and comprehends processes of coating or rustproofing analogous to what is commonly termed hot-dip galvanizing and which accomplish similar results when applied as hereinafter explained.

In the sardine packing industry the trays used in handling sardines during the processes of cooking and packing the sardines are called flakes or sardine flakes. My tray is particularly adaptable to the sardine packing industry, and therefore my invention will be described with reference to that industry although it is susceptible of various other uses.

Other details, objectsand advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a present preferred embodiment of my invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken'plan view of a tray in which portions of the top reinforcing bar have been removed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-section through an edge portion of the structure showing the relative positions of the expanded metal sheet and the reinforcing bars before welding;

Figure 3 is a cross-section similar to Figure 2 showing the expanded metal sheet and reinforcing bars after welding;

Figure 4 is a cross-section similar to Figures 2 and 3 taken on the lines IV-'-IV of Figure 1 and showing the completed tray comprising the expanded metal sheetand reinforcing bars after being welded and hot-dip galvanized;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of an apparatus used in the sardine packing industry for loading the sardines onto the trays; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a portable rack used for carrying trays loaded with sardines into the cooking ovens.

In Figure 1 there is shown a tray or sardine flake l. The body 8 of the tray comprises a sheet of flattened expanded metal of suitable thickness which has been cut to the desired dimensions with rounded corners. Reinforcing members 9, shown as half-round bars, are cut andbent so as to contact the body 8 along its edges and to form rounded corners IE1. The reinforcing members 9 are applied to both faces of the body 8 of the tray, as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. In Figure 1 portions of the top reinforcing member 9 have been broken away at H and I2 to show the relative positions of the edges of the body and the reinforcing members. are also shown incross-section in Figures 2, 3 and 4. It is to be noted that the reinforcing members 9 extend a short distance beyond the edges of the body 8 for reasons which will now be explained.

Figure 2 shows the expanded metal sheet which forms the body 8 of the tray and the reinforcing members 9 beforethey are formedinto an integral structureby pressure welding. Figure 3 shows the integral structure formed by the'pressure-welding. The pressure-welding slightly re duces in thicknessthe edge portions of the body 8 and also causes them to sinkslightly into the reinforcing members 9, thus forming an integral structure and reducing the depth of the spaces I 3 which lie intermediate the edge portions of the body between the reinforcing members to such an extent that the spaces may be readily filled with galvanizing spelter.

After the reinforcing members 9 have been welded to thebody ii the entire structure is then hot-dip galvanized. The spelter M not only renders the tray resistant to corrosion but also fills up the spaces 13., Figure 4 shows the completed tray after it has been hot-dip galvanized and shows the spaces l3 filled by spelter M. The completed tray thus has no crevices into which particles of food may lodge and decay. This feature is of particular importance in the sardine The relative positions I packing industry because the fish are introduced into ovens and cooked on the trays. During the cooking process the fish give up oil which flows over the tray and would remain in any small crevices which might exist. The fish sometimes break and particles of these broken fish would also lodge in any crevices. The trays are frequently cleaned. A strong washingsolutionisused in cleaning the trays, which will find its way into any crevices in the tray and corrode the metal. Since there are no crevices in my tray the washing solution may be readily rinsed off before it has had suflicient time to corrode the metal.

It should be explained that hot-dip galvanizing is not an exact science and the spaces I3 in some cases may not be per cent, filled with spelter. Sometimes small unfilled portions of the spaces l3 may remain, but these do not render the tray unsuitable for my purpose. Even with such small unfilled spaces my tray is still very much more satisfactory than the trays which have heretofore been employed.

Figure 5 shows an apparatus used in the sardine packing industry for loading the sardines onto the trays. The sardines come down a chute l5, the delivery end of which is shown in Figure 5, and fall onto a revolving drum ES. The revolving drum l6 has a corrugated periphery H which causes the sardines to lie generally parallel to the axis of the drum and to fall onto the trays l roughly in parallel rows. The trays l' are moved under the drum 56 by an endless chain 18 which passes along a trough ill and carries lugs 23 which contact the trays and push them under the drum l6. In ordinary practice the trays are thrown into the trough 49 to the right of the drum I5, viewing Figure 5.

Heretofore the trays used in the sardine packing industry have been made of wire mesh reinforced along the edges by U-shaped pieces of sheet metal, the tray then being galvanized. The U-shaped sheet metal pieces have been lapped and riveted at the corners of the tray and riveted to the wire mesh along the edges. This construction in the course of usage becomes loosened, allowing the body to chafe against the sheet metal and thus wear away or break the spelter bond between the members, and leave bare metal exposed to corrosion, causing rapid disintegration of the body of the tray along the line at the inside edge of the sheet metal reinforcing. Such chafing or wearing away cannot occur in my tray because of its integral con struction. The trays so constructed have sharp square corners. If the operator is at all inaccurate in throwing the trays into the trough, as frequently happens, the sharp square corners of the trays dig into and catch on the sides of the trough, The lugs 2i! moving on the endless chain I8 jam the tray against the sides of the trough resulting in damage to the tray or trough or both and sometimes stalling the endless chain Hi. My tray has rounded corners ill, which will not catch on the sides of the trough.

After the trays are loaded with sardines they are removed from the trough and placed in. portable racks 2 I, one of which is shown in Figure 6. The portable rack 2| has angle iron slides 22 secured to the sides of the rack to form ledges on which the trays may be rested. The square corners of the trays heretofore used struck against the upright members of the racks when the trays were placed on the racks, unless the operator carefully held the trays in line with the slides. The rounded corners of my tray will glance ofi the upright members and thus enable the operator to load the racks with greater speed than has heretofore been possible.

The racks containing the loaded trays are then rolled into the cooking or baking ovens. In the trays heretofore employed, the sheet metal used about the edges of the wire mesh body of the tray is two or three inches wide. Frequently, fish put on the trays by the loading apparatus fall on this relatively wide rim. These fish are imperfectly cooked in the baking ovens because they are exposed on only one side to the heat of the oven and break when they are placed in cans after cooking. If a fish *rcaks as it is put in the can, the entire can is discarded. The reinforcing members 9 of my tray are generally made of halfround bars ,4," in diameter. If a fish falls on this bar it either slides onto the body 8 of the tray or falls completely off the tray. All fish which remain on the tray when it is put into the oven are exposed on both sides to the heat of the oven and are completely cooked.

When the trays are being cleaned the cleaning solution and rinsing water are shaken ofi? the trays by hitting corners thereof against the floor. Trays heretofore used have square corners formed of sheet metal which soon become bent out of shape. My tray with its rounded corners is of simple rugged construction which will withstand this rough handling.

From the above description it will be appreciated that trays used in the sardine packing industry are subjected to considerable rough handling and abuse. My tray is so constructed that it can withstand this hard usage and, in addition, may be readily cleaned. The tray is compact and relatively light in weight and may be manufactured cheaply.

-While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A reversible tray comprising a foraminous metallic body portion and narrow half-round bars welded on both sides of the edges of the body portion.

2. A flake for use in the fish packing industry comprising a sheet of expanded metal having rounded corners, said sheet being strengthened by half-round bars pressure welded on both sides of the edges of said sheet.

3. A reversible tray comprising a foraminous sheet having rounded corners, and narrow bars whose outwardly facing surfaces are rounded pressure welded on both sides of the edges of said sheet, the edges of said sheet between said bars having a thickness less than the thickness of said sheet intermediate said edges.

4. A reversible tray comprising a foraminous sheet of expanded metal having rounded corners, bars whose outwardly facing surfaces are rounded pressure welded on both sides of the edges of the said sheet, the edges of said sheet between said bars having a thickness less than the thickness of said sheet, and a coating of non-corrosive metal over the surface of said tray.

WAYNE E. MACK. 

